Media articles & stats: Tiger train storms into the top 8 after downing Blues

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All aboard! Tiger train storms into the top eight after downing Blues

By Nick D'Urbano
afl.com.au
17 June 2022

RICHMOND    3.2      7.6     8.10    11.15 (81)
CARLTON       0.4      3.5     6.8      9.12 (66)

GOALS 
Richmond: Lynch 3, Bolton 2, Riewoldt 2, Pickett, Balta, D.Rioli, Edwards
Carlton: McKay 4, Hewett, O’Brien, Curnow, C.Durdin, Martin

BEST 
Richmond: Prestia, Lynch, Grimes, Short, Baker, Broad
Carlton: Walsh, Cripps, Docherty, McKay, Saad, Hewett

INJURIES
Richmond: Tarrant (knuckle), Balta (hamstring)
Carlton: Saad (eye), S.Durdin (knee), Martin (lower leg)

SUBSTITUTES 
Richmond: Maurice Rioli jnr (replaced Noah Balta in the fourth quarter)
Carlton: Lachie Fogarty (replaced Jack Martin in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: 50,741 at the MCG

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THEY were tested and made to work for it, but the Tigers ultimately reigned supreme against their old rivals, seeing off Carlton by 15 points in a physical, hot-tempered affair at the MCG on Thursday night.

Just like it has for the best part of six seasons, Richmond took to the wet Melbourne conditions like a fish to water, but had to see off a spirited fight-back from the Blues who pushed the Tigers to the limit in a frantic final-term.

Unlike the last meeting where the Blues were able to wrestle back the ascendancy with an incredible last-quarter comeback in round one, Richmond steadied and took its chances when it mattered to secure the 11.15 (81) to 9.12 (66) victory and book its place back inside the top eight.

Richmond built a lead as large as 27 points early in the last quarter thanks to goals from Shai Bolton and Jack Riewoldt, but a hat-trick of goals from Harry McKay got the Blues back to single digits with just over ten minutes remaining.

Jack Newnes thought he had the margin back within three points but his snap, after review, was deemed to have been touched before Shane Edwards went back up the other way and kicked a much-needed goal which ultimately proved to be the sealer.

Dion Prestia, who got injured in the last meeting between the two sides, was instrumental in midfield (33 disposals, 13 clearances), while Tom Lynch booted three goals in his first game back from injury and Dylan Grimes was superb at the other-end keeping Coleman Medal leader Charlie Curnow to a single goal.

From the word go, Richmond looked to exert its will on the contest, as its all-systems go brand held up perfectly in the wet.

The Tigers tackled, harassed and moved the ball forward with speed - which created havoc in the Blues’ depleted back-half and allowed Richmond to kick the first six - showcasing no signs of a potential drop-off without the services of star Dustin Martin.

However, Carlton wasn't going to go down without a fight, as it started to not only take its chances in-front of goal but levelled the battle at the coal-face, as the likes of Sam Walsh (34 disposals, seven inside 50s) along with Sam Docherty (31 disposals, 11 marks) and Patrick Cripps (34 disposals) in his 150th game led the charge.

In the end, the Tigers’ fast-start, coupled with their poise under pressure was enough to get the job done, with the four points taking Damien Hardwick’s side to eighth place on the ladder, while the Blues miss the chance to go equal-first on the ladder and could fall as low as seventh by the end of the round.

The win did come at a cost with Noah Balta subbed out with a hamstring injury while Carlton lost Jack Martin (lower leg) and club debutant Sam Durdin (knee), further compounding the Blues’ injury crisis.

Baptism of fire

637 days. That’s how long it had been since Sam Durdin had last laced up the boots at AFL level. The ex-North Melbourne key defender, who has been at the Blues for a little over a fortnight, had to quite simply sink or swim in his first appearance for not only Carlton, but on the MCG, as he was thrown in the deep end against Richmond’s formidable key-forward duo due to Michael Voss’ side’s deepening defensive injury crisis. Durdin was given the tall task of going up against Jack Riewoldt and battled well, keeping him to two goals, but unfortunately his evening ended early after he went off in the final term with a knee injury - creating further headaches for Voss going into crunch games against fellow finals fancies Fremantle and St Kilda.

Tigers cool Charlie

Statistically, no team has been able to stifle Charlie Curnow’s impact better than Richmond this season. Heading into the game as the leader in the Coleman Medal race, Curnow hadn’t gone goalless since the opening round against the Tigers and again, the Blues key forward had the going tough as Dylan Grimes put on a defensive masterclass. Grimes battled manfully from the onset, not allowing the powerful forward to exert his will on the contest and was able to keep him to one goal for the night. The Tigers veteran wasn’t the only defender to impress as Nathan Broad stood out playing loose while Nick Vlaustin continued his solid season with another 24 disposal outing.

Sight for a sore eye

It’s fair to say, Adam Saad had a far from ideal start to the game. The Blues defender was in the hands of trainers within minutes of the first-bounce, after he copped an innocuous thumb to the eye from Tom Lynch, which in the same play led to Marlion Pickett booting the opening goal. Saad came from the ground immediately after and received treatment for his eye, but thankfully for Carlton, he was able to see out the game albeit with major swelling. In the end, the former Bomber ended up with 25 disposals along with a whopping 15 intercepts.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/780686/all-aboard-tiger-train-storms-into-the-top-eight-after-downing-blues

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Tigers roar back into contention with win over Blues

Sam McClure
The Age
June 16, 2022 — 10.36pm

A vintage Richmond have stormed back into premiership contention after holding off a desperate Carlton at the MCG.

A controversial score review – which overturned a Jack Newnes snap that had momentarily put the Blues within three points deep into the final quarter – proved pivotal in what minutes earlier had appeared to be heading towards a comfortable Richmond win.

But the tough, tenacious and at times taunting Tigers outfit was unrelenting against an injury-ravaged Carlton, who tried hard but ultimately fell short of their cleaner, classier opponents.

The result has had a significant impact on the make-up of the top eight, with Richmond now ensconced among a logjam of teams, including Geelong, St Kilda and Sydney. While for the Blues, they are now likely to fall outside the top four within the day if the Saints can account for Essendon tonight.

Five goals between Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt, and two from star Shai Bolton – including a controversial crumbing goal after showing the ball to a chasing Sam Docherty – was too much firepower for the injury-impacted Carlton defence, which looked all at sea on several occasions.

But in a game that appeared dead at various stages, the Blues continued to rally and at one point looked like they may steal the result as persistent rain eventually subsided in the final quarter.

Three consecutive Harry McKay goals – who prior to that had one disposal for the match – dragged Carlton back into the game. And had Newnes’ snap had not been touched by the outstretched hand of Nathan Broad – and overturned inside the AFL’s ARC – then the Blues would have been even closer.

HEATED MOMENTS

Carlton’s comeback had come from nearly nowhere and not long after a series of fracas involving two of the Blues’ high-profile leaders.

An enraged Patrick Cripps took umbrage with a push from Dion Prestia just seconds before the three-quarter-time siren and the two began an all-in melee at the final change.

Then, Cripps’ former co-captain Sam Docherty found himself being taunted by Bolton in the early stages of the final quarter when the Tiger was running into an open goal.

As Bolton approached the goal square, he turned back to the chasing opponent and held the ball out with his left hand, as if begging Docherty to chase harder.

The incident was met with loud boos from Carlton supporters as the incident was replayed on the big screens.

TIGERS CONTROL BOTH ENDS

Richmond inflicted a lot of the damage early in the match. The Tigers kept Carlton to their first goalless opening quarter since 2020 to lead by 16 points at quarter-time and then piled on the pressure with a clearance domination in the second term to lead by 25 points at the main break.

The Tigers were harder, cleaner and more consistent in the trying conditions, leading contested possessions by eight at half-time.

And while Lewis Young and debutant Sam Durdin struggled to keep Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt under wraps, the opposite could be said at the other end.

A masterclass from the likes of Dylan Grimes, Nick Vlastuin and Robbie Tarrant meant Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow were almost non-existent early in the game.

In fact, in an opening quarter in which Carlton were unable to impact the scoreboard, the Tigers had just two more inside-50s, which pointed to both their efficiency going forward but also their resilience in defence.

RICHMOND
3.2 7.6 8.10 11.15 (81)
CARLTON
0.4 3.5 6.8 9.12 (66)

GOALS
Richmond: Lynch 3, Riewoldt 2, Bolton 2, Pickett, Rioli, Edwards, Balta.
Carlton: McKay 4, Curnow, Martin, O’Brien, Hewett, Durdin.

BEST
Richmond: Lynch, Prestia, Bolton, Vlastuin, Edwards, Grimes.
Carlton: Walsh, Cripps, McKay, Docherty, O’Brien.

INJURIES
Richmond: Balta (hamstring).
Carlton: Martin (lower leg).

UMPIRES
Hosking, Williamson, Findlay.

CROWD
50,741 at the MCG.

VOTES
Tom Lynch (Richmond) 7
Dion Prestia (Richmond) 7
Patrick Cripps (Carlton) 6
Sam Walsh (Carlton) 6
Nick Vlastuin (Richmond) 6

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-roar-back-into-contention-with-win-over-blues-20220616-p5aued.html

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THE 3-2-1, via David Zita and Max Laughton

Foxsports
17 June 2022

3. KIND RUN HOME TO TURN SEPTEMBER INTO TIGER TIME

Sometimes four points is bigger than just that. This was one of those games.

Carlton could’ve gone three games clear inside the top eight with a win on Thursday night, but instead Richmond moved into the finals places.

The Tigers now sit eighth on percentage, though they could move up depending on results in St Kilda and Sydney’s games later this round.

But more importantly the win sets up Damien Hardwick’s side for a clear run at September, as they have one of the easiest remaining fixtures in the AFL.

While almost every contender faces a murderer’s row of fellow finals fancies, Richmond has just three games left against the current top eight - Geelong (next week), Fremantle (Round 19) and Brisbane (Round 20). And all of those games are in Melbourne.

The 2017, 2018 and 2020 premiers can otherwise expect to be favourites in most if not all of their other games, against West Coast, Gold Coast (away), North Melbourne, Port Adelaide (away), Hawthorn and Essendon.

Having won six of their last seven games, the Tigers should be hopeful of winning at least five of their remaining nine, which would put them onto 13 victories. That should be enough for finals footy, and a couple more wins would put them in the top four mix.

As for the Blues, they should only need four more wins - but only four of their remaining games (West Coast, GWS, Adelaide and Collingwood) are against teams outside of the eight, so it may be tight.

2. STOPPAGE SWITCH WORKS FOR TIGERS

If there’s one thing Carlton are, it’s a stoppage side.

If there’s one thing Richmond aren’t, it’s a stoppage side.

So imagine the surprise when it was the Tigers who dominated at the coalface, thriving at clearance as it kicked the first six goals of the game, including three goals to none in the opening term.

That clearance battle was clearly an agenda item for Damien Hardwick heading into the match.

“They smacked us clearance wise in round one but we’ve got a lot better in that facet of our game over the last four to five weeks,” he told Fox Footy pre-game.

“In theory it’s won and lost in clearances today.

“The ability to fight for that contest on the inside and then get it to the outside is going to be really important and both sides do that really well.”

Hardwick’s words were put into action by the Tigers, with a brilliant first term setting the tone.

In the first 14 minutes of that term, the Tigers won the clearance count six to one.

“They actually won the first quarter clearances 10-6 and this is the team that is the best in the business when it comes to contested possession and clearances,” Jason Dunstall said at quarter-time.

“They’re getting what they need, that means the territory battle is working.”

By half-time, the clearance count was 24 to 14 in favour of Richmond. That clearance lead of 10 marked the Tigers’ best return in the first half of the season so far.

1. BLUES’ STRENGTH BECOMES WEAKNESS

Carlton’s willingness to handball through traffic and use what David King terms “leg drive” this season has been a trademark of this Michael Voss led side in 2022.

It has worked for them in so many games this year, but on Thursday night it was their system, like fellow top-four contenders Fremantle a few weeks prior, that just didn’t cut it in the wet.

Once the rain cleared the Blues began to look a better side, but the lead Richmond opened up in that time proved too much to reign in, though not for lack of trying by the Blues.

“Carlton, this has been their greatest strength their handball out of contest. It’s worked for them so well but in these conditions you just have to be careful, at the right time you need to surge the ball forward,” Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy.

“Eventually if you keep handballing you run yourself into pressure.

“They’lve just looked for the perfect play a little too often compared to Richmond, who are happy to get the ball moving forward.”

Richmond, meanwhile, may well still be the best wet weather side in the competition.

If it’s raining in September, look out.

The way the Tigers are going, however, you may have to look out regardless of the conditions.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/live-afl-2022-richmond-tigers-vs-carlton-blues-round-14-live-scores-updates-video-blog-news-stats-stream-result/news-story/a24af1f51be6799a40977bc6a03dba6d